It truly has to be the Mother of All Cottons. Today we either turn up our noses at the mention of osnaburg as an ugly utility fabric or put a question mark after it as in WHAT is THAT??? Well, think again about this super-duty fabric – it contained and transported our dry food and still furnishes our homes with the most beautiful of decorator fabrics.

You will be surprised at its reach and the many fabric names to which it gives birth. Part 1 covers a continuation of feedsacks leftover from Rags to Riches. Part II covers Home Beautiful and how we decorate with Osnaburg.

What is Osnaburg? Its origins began in Osnabruck, Germany, date uncertain, for which the fabric was named. It was a coarse, strong, plain-weave tow linen often left in its natural color. Fabric might have been similar to or a type of canvas, dowlas or sackcloth, all coarse linens used for cloak bags and cases and clothing for lower classes in the 16th and 17th centuries. Today’s name and spelling is due to the English corruption of Osnaburg but in former days it was also spelled Osenbreges, Ossenbrydge, Ostenbriges, Ozenbridg[e], Osburow, Osenbrigs, Oz- Osnabrigs -brug, Ozenbrigs, Ossenburgs and Osnaburgh.

Modern osnaburgs are coarse-yarn, medium and heavy weight cloths of low construction made of [1] part-waste cotton mixed with low-grade cotton called PW osnaburgs and [2] all short-staple white cotton low-grade stock called clean osnaburgs.

Thread count ranges from 20×20 to 40×40.

Coarse carded osnaburg of part waste cotton, 40″ wide, in its grey or unconverted state. When converted it will be used for bags, decorative fabrics, women’s and children’s apparel.
– National Cotton Council

Lighter weight carded sheeting osnaburg, 37″ wide, in grey state which will be converted to bags and other industrial fabrics such as crinoline and filter cloth.
– National Cotton Council

Magnification of slub-yarn osnaburg in grey state, 38″ wide.

– Staple Cotton Fabrics, 1942 PWs are also made with red-tinged cotton.

Plains and striped are used principally in the grey state for bags; with slubbing, novelty effects and woven stripes and checks they are used for sportswear. In fact, in the late 1800s-early 1900s osnaburg was a popular heavy cotton, yarn-dyed in blue and white or brown and white stripes, checks and solid colors and used for shirts and common garments. Narrow widths are used for toweling, wide widths for draperies and coating purposes. Clean osnaburg is bleached with all impurities removed although it will still look dingy when compared with other fabrics.

Fabric resembles a coarse-yarn linen and will become crash, certain hopsackings, suiting, cretonne and in a better grade cotton, bed sheeting. Osnaburg’s greatest call today is for cretonne and when converted to that fabric and glazed it becomes chintz. Here in a nutshell is the progression of osnaburg: Uses in Grey State bags, box-spring covers, mattress covers, shoe linings, covering for pipes, tire linings, tie linings, awing, tarpaulins and bases for wall coverings, linoleums, imitation leathers and waterproof fabrics.

Finishes Used pocketing, chased, elastic-duck, mercerized, napped, canvas, printed trousering, cretonne, dyed or printed crash. Uses in Finished State draperies, upholstery covers, playclothes, suitings, work shirtings, linings, towels, golf knickers [1940s], slacks, summer coats, summer couch and seat coverings, coveralls. A good way to acquaint yourself with osnaburg and its offspring – or any fabric family — is to visit a fabric store such as Joannes or Walmart and quilt stores which carry basic utilities.

There you can compare utility osnaburg to duck, canvas and sailcloth which can appear and feel the same. At the same time you can compare the various weight and quality utility muslins with osnaburg. Then you can wander over to home decorating section to view cretonnes, crashes, barkcloth and chintz in plain and textured surfaces. Bolts may not be labeled such but clerks should be able to help you. We bless thee osnaburg for those indispensable feedsacks for our backs and for our daily use — a Mother’s thanks How would a majority of the rural households have managed during the Depression and other lean times without feedsacks to make clothing and household goods! Or those a little more fortunate who could eke out a few more pennies to buy ready-made feedsack goods from catalogs at prices lower than for better grade cottons.

What follows are memories of those days in photos from several contributors who either grew up with these family feedsack items or acquired them through collecting. For you readers who are not familiar with feedsack history, you might want to read the Rags to Riches column first. There you can learn about the origins, manufacturers and many uses of feedsacks and view the extensive photo gallery. From sacks such as these.

(click on pictures for a larger view)

1930s-40s sacks courtesy Betty Wilson

1930s-40s sacks – Courtesy Debbie Carney

1930s-40s sacks – Courtesy Debbie Carney

1940s-50s sacks – Courtesy Jane Clark Stapel

WWI sack ; often logos were left intact.

– Courtesy Linda Learn

Needlebooks get into the act – this one c1950 advertises Werthco Dress Print Bags from Werthan Bag Co. Nashville TN.
– Courtesy Sharon Stark ……came household finery

……  

1930s border print sack [l] for pillowcase with 1930s crochet-type lace edging. 1930s border print sack [r] for pillowcase with batiste flouncing from early 1900s petticoat. Both cases made in 2002 – Unsewn sacks from Jane Clark Stapel collection.

Two-sided colorful pillow tops c 1950s bought at farm auction.
– Courtesy Betty Wilson

Four treasures from a farm auction –1930s-40s quilt blocks carefully machine sewn.
– Courtesy Betty Wilson

 

Front and back of 1930s child’s quilt, each side a different nursery rhyme motif. Such sacks are among most valuable on today’s market.
– Courtesy Sharon Stark

c1940s attractive print makes nicely into kitchen curtains.
– Courtesy Sharon Stark

1930s-40s clothespin apron with large center pocket to hold wood clothes pins.
– Courtesy Betty Wilson

  

Three attractive aprons probably date from 1940s.
-Courtesy Sharon Stark

  

Cheery dish towels and potholders. Crochet edging was added to red towel; other colorful towels are sack yardage. Toweling is c1940s; potholders 1930s-40s.
– Courtesy Sharon Stark

  

1940s tablecloths with initiative. Use of squares on cherry cloth shows a quilter’s imprint. Strawberry print was extended with borders of white birdseye pique to make it larger. Decorative inner border on yellow cloth is red rickrack.
– Courtesy Sharon Stark and rural chic…

  

From one pattern, three basic street dresses trimmed with lace and rickrack. It took an average of three sacks to make a dress. Prints appear to be 1940s.
– Courtesy Sharon Stark

    

From two patterns, four basic skirts of the 1940s. Note variety of prints and colors of sacks made to lure sewers.
– Courtesy Sharon Stark

  

More 1940s casuals – note coordinated skirt, blouse and midriff set.
– Courtesy Sharon Stark …… and cuddlies close to hearts

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Many bags featured doll patterns to make stuffed toys such as Mr. Ceresota Flour who looks like a cross between a Dutchman and a gay 90s baseball player and cuddly, dogs, cats and lambs. Est. date 1940s-50s.
– Courtesy Sharon Stark

 

Cute, useful and imaginative c1940s — sofa or as Sharon calls it a sewfa with cushion lid for straightpins and box to hold notions and a stuffed chicken which might be a tea cozy, pinholder or potholder.
– Courtesy Sharon Stark ……even something for the city folk

Sears 1908 catalog featured salt sacks for converting to rubbing cloths and grain sacks for many household uses.

 

Sacks were still big business in 1946 as touted in the National Bellas Hess catalog. Good for pillowcases, diapers, laundry bags, curtains, towels and much more. Many with stamping intact in unused bleached or unbleached sacks or prewashed and ironed sacks. Prices have gone up since 1933 — 6 for $1.10 by comparison.

In 1933 one could purchase 10 flawless 33×34 flour sacks from Sears – washed and bleached white, no holes, no stamping, no side seams, no ripping. Ready for hemming to be used for towels and dustcloths. A bargain at 10/67¢. My thanks to contributors Debbie Carney, Linda Learn, Jane Clark Stapel, Sharon Stark and Betty Wilson for sharing their collections. All items featured were made during dates given with the exception of the pillowcases — they were sewn this year after being “stolen” from Jane who is still pouting.

Debbie is ambitious with feedsack and crazy quilts under construction. More vintage sacks and fabrics can be seen on these websites: Linda Learn www.classactfabrics.com Re-enactor and costumer Linda has been a guest columnist several times. Select Going Away Dress to access her bio. Jane Clark Stapel www.baglady3.com For the past 15 years Jane has traveled the country lecturing on the history of feedsacks and conducting seminars and retreats for collectors and quilters.

She has written a booklet on feedsacks and until recently published a monthly feedsack newsletter. Not a sewer but a quilter by heart, Jane has appeared on the popular HGTV Simply Quilts show to further demonstrate the popularity feedsacks as quilting fabrics and many of the favorite patterns that were used. Her site is a maze of feedsacks produced in every color and print conceivable and collectors’ heaven for 1930s-40 literature offered by mills and manufacturers in conjunction with government and commercial patterns companies about the care of and sewing with feedsacks.

Sharon Stark www.rickrack.com Sharon is a writer by trade and has published many stories; several recognized as best American short stories, one Pushcart prize story, and an O. Henry award. She received a Guggenheim fellowship and a number of Pennsylvania Arts grants. She teaches fiction writing in a MFA degree program at Vermont College. She and her husband collect antiques, and living in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country where they are plentiful they began to specialize in antique textiles.

As a result, their website reflects a great range of fabric items from feedsacks to kitchen linens, cotton yardage, hankies, quilts and tops, even crocheted potholders. Ironically Sharon doesn’t sew but gets pleasure from the works and skills of sewers and quilters. Osnabruck Briefly Osnabruck is an ancient place , a town and Episcopal see of Germany in the Prussian province of Hanover situated on the Hase River. Its bishopric was founded by Charlemagne about 800 after he had subdued the Saxons.

In 888 the town received the right to establish a mint, a market and a toll-house and later joined the Hanseatic League. The dual Bishopric was held by a Roman Catholic and a Protestant bishop alternately which lasted until the secularization of the see in 1803. Since 1857 Osnabruck has been the seat of a Roman Catholic bishop. Important buildings are the 13th century Roman Catholic cathedral with its three Romanesque and Transitional towers; the 15th century town hall where peace negotiations of Westphalia were concluded from 1644 to 1648; and the lunatic asylum on the Gertrudenberg which was the site of an ancient nunnery.

Linen was the staple product but has been replaced by machinery, paper, chemicals, tobacco and cigars, pianos, beer, spinning and weaving. Betty Wilson http://www.oldhankies.com Betty is best known as the hanky lady. Her love for and collection of handkerchiefs is being published by Schiffer and will be on the market next fall. However, her attraction for feedsacks is just as great. A quilter, her love for feedsacks can be seen in the Rags to Riches column mentioned earlier. In fact, Betty is addicted to any linen closet textile including pillowcases embellished with needlework skills of yesteryear. Her site is a hodgepodge of linens, sacks and vintage literature. Betty is also known for her love of cats. She is the author of two published cat books and tries to incorporate them in her photos of textiles.

References:

• Cotton: from Field to Fabric, National Cotton Council, 1951 .
• Drygoodsman Handy Dictionary, F.M. Adams, 1912 .
• The Modern Textile and Apparel Dictionary, George Linton, 1973 .
• Staple Cotton Fabrics, John Hoye, 1942 .
• 1911 Edition Encyclopedia [website] .
• Intralinea Vol. 2 1999 [website]

Next: Osnaburg Part II – Home Beautiful; all about barkcloth, cretonne, crash and other decorating fabrics The arbitrary cut-off date for this Vintage Fabric column is 1960.

To stay within the scope of this timeframe, reference materials published up to that date are the prime source of information to more accurately capture actual thoughts of the time.

Joan Kiplinger is an antique doll costumer and vintage fabric addict who learned to sew on her grandmother’s treadle and has been peddling fabrications ever since.